Carp Snagging, Anyone?

I found about a zillion carp stacked up on my sonar in a deep slackwater hole behind a wing dyke on the Missouri the other day -- and while it didn't occur to me at the time, I think it might be fun to go back there with some big treble hooks and snag some of those beasts. They ought to put up a pretty good fight.

Far as I can tell, snagging is permitted Sept 15 to Jan 15 and then again in March-April. Though I can't imagine anyone at MDC would complain about removing a few Bighead and Silver carp from the waters of the state just about any time of the year...

Think maybe I'll buy a few big trebles and keep them in the boat with me for the next time I go out -- if the cats aren't biting, at least I can have some fun with something that swims... :big_smile:

Marty Spoonfish & I found a hole like you did., That had more fish in it than Ive ever, seen, they also were, working, the top, of the water, If legal your bound to hook up, slack water behind wing dike about 30 feet deep.
Jim

Somehow I suspect you are correct about those Carp. I doubt any game official would even bat an eye if you were removing them from just about any body of water. Just make sure you practice C.P.R. - Cut-up, Package, and Refridgerate - for catfish bait that is.

This fall when the water began cooling down the silvers seemed to not be so jumpy and I was having trouble getting them to jump in the boat. I decided to try snagging them so next trip out I had some big trebles with me . I went to my "favorite carp hole" and sure enough they were stacked up like sardines in a can . I figured I'd have my bait in about one or two casts but I was really surprized that I had a real difficult time catching one. I first drifted right over the middle of the school and just dropped my hook straight down and yanked straight up. After 15 or 20 fruitless attempts like this I started casting and jerking in sideways. It took another 20 or so casts and I finally got a little 5 pound silver. I usually use up most of a twenty pounder in a nights fishing so I kept at it and after another twenty or so casts I caught a medium sized buffalo. I don't know why they were so hard to catch when they practically blacked out the sonar screen but they were. May have something to do with their speed, I don't know, sure was strange though that I had such trouble snagging them when they were so thick in there. But anyway, it did give me some bait, just took a little more effort than I had expected it would. I was hoping to hook into a twenty or thirty just for the fun it would be. But it was shortly after that trip that my ramp came out of the water and I haven't tried it again. Just used frozen carp and a few shad I caught on my float trip a couple weeks ago.

Catbusser these are Asian carp, they feed on plankton, like shad,. their a unwelcome, fish that, got loose in the 93 floods, and threats, the food supply of new born, fish. different from common or German carp. If we can come up with a method of catching , them. itll be a blast very strong, fish, capeable of jumping out of water,6foot plus.
Jim

Thanks for the report, Jack -- I'm as surprised as you were that they'd be that tough to snag. Casting and reeling in is probably the way to do it as you've found, but I'll bet that turns into work pretty quickly..

Two years ago I was talking with a bioligist from the Conservation Dept. and a fella from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife in the Columbia area. We were expressing our concerns about the asian carp. The Fed indicated that just yesterday he found a deep hole loaded with asian carp, so with excitement he saw this as an opportunity to thin out their numbers. He cranked up the generater and threw the probs over... only to find their speed and being so spooky was faster than that moment of putting the probs into the water. He only picked up the one slow poke... the rest were outta there... He was hoping this would be a method to use against the asian carp, but that experience educated us all on their being so spooky and their speed. Jack, I think you got the slow poke, but a least thats one less to jump out and injure someone. At least the cold wether has them moving down following the plankton till spring.

Get those big treble hooks on a good file to get them as sharp as you can. They hook pretty easy on a spoonbill but on those crap those scales are pretty tough. I've snagged for carp before and had a heck of a time trying to get a good hookset as compared to snagging a spoonbill. Sounds like fun to me and some good cutbait also.

Hey Marty, pass the dynomite, lets go carp fishing. Dont mean to sugar coat my feelings about those asian carp but every time I have to pull my boat into a car wash and power wash the slime off that dries a funky snotty green then Ill think ... pass the dynomite, lets go carp fishing... the biologist I spoke of would be the first one to say... pass the dynomite, lets go carp fishing... he spoke with passion of the blood and nasty slim they leave on everything they come in contact with... or the commercial fisherman I met that filled an order of 5,000 lbs for fertalizer in about 3 hrs and swore he would never again... imagine the dollors he put into the power washer to clean that one... he would gladly join us... pass the dynomite, lets go carp fishing... he once had an eye swollen shut from getting whacked by one... you otta hear what the coast guard says about um, its daily for them... Well at least with this cold weather we wont be plaged by their presence... Think I got to much time on my hands due to the likes of iced over ramps and all... need a computor game along the line of carp busting... Carp fishing anyone??? pass the dynomite.

Can anyone say pass shooting with a 12ga. shotgun.I would love to do that if it was legal. I have had game wardens say that they would buy shells for me if it was legal.Jim has the best carp chasing boat bar none.All Troy has to do is hold the net in the air and the carp jump in.If we could get a market for them I would be game for getting rid of a few tons of them.:big_smile:

i had a game warden and a fisheries biologist tell me that if the fish was in the air that they could be shot with a gun. Don't forget about the bows, they are a blast to shoot with a bow.
Try using a throw net on them, that works pretty good, fun fight if you do get a big one caught up in it. They may be fast but they dont scatter from a throw net when i throw for some reason.

Jim has the best carp chasing boat bar none.All Troy has to do is hold the net in the air and the carp jump in.If we could get a market for them I would be game for getting rid of a few tons of them.:big_smile:

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Ha..Ha.. Bill, It,s not all that easy up in the front of Jims boat.:beat_plaster:
I'd start wearing a helmet but you know how it goes, Jim would look at me funny if I show up with one.
Carp catchin trny. would be fun! Lets get one goin for when it warms up.